Where do you put your tools?

paulevy

Is it more efficient to put tools (tube, tire irons, multi tool) in a tool bag under the seat or in your shirt's pockets on your back? Does either way nake it easier to avoid pinch flats or uphill fatigue?

peanut

I use a small underseat wedge but carry very little. I always carry a tiny mobile nowadays so I can arrange for a lift or help if I need more help .
If I was going on a 100 mile audax I'd probably put more tools in a cut down water bottle .
Frankly as I put together and service my own bikes I rarely have problems out on a cycle (famous last words)

feel

doesn't matter if the weight is on you or the bike - it's the overall total that counts.

on the road

It doesn't matter if you put them in your back pocket or in a saddle bag under your seat, but if you put them in a saddle bag then you've got more room in your pockets for other stuff.

shazzz

Saddle pack for me. I don't want to be stabbed by an allen key as I slide along the tarmac if I fall.

Like others I don't carry much - tube, tyre levers, 5mm allen key is all I take.

richa

Saddlebag.

Multitool, Tubes x2, Levers x2, CO2, Chainlink, Patches & Cash.

wildmoustache

I'm the same as peanut ... hardly carry anything and have never been caught out but each to his / her own. I like to keep weight and clutter to a minimum and saddle bags are aesthetic vandalism on a nice rig! I do check over my bike once a week or so and tighten bolts property using grease and torque wrench where appropriate.

so i just carry:

small pump
tyre lever or two
small puncture repair kit with glue, three patches, sandpaper and cash inside
debit card
sometimes the small allen key that does the seatpost
house keys

that's it.

dennisn

Nobody mentioned a cell phone. Wouldn't leave home without one. I do jersey pocket.
Hate those bags under the seat. I carry money, credit card, multi tool, master link,
I.D., phone, in a plastic bag.

Dennis noward

hotaches

i use a water bottle in the spare holder for my stuff:-

spare tube
small pump
puncture repair kit
mobile phone
multi tool
and money

it is kept water tight and is easily removed for cleaning

Hugh A

Like Shazzz I prefer not to carry tools in a pocket - they won't help you to slide along the tarmac. Also things can fall out of your pockets so it's the saddle pack for me with a bit of food or a jacket in the pockets.

campagsarge

I have had three Continental wedge saddle bags and each one has fallen off the bike. I now put inner tube, tyre lever and multi-tool in a sawn off bottle that sits in the seat-tube bottle cage.

I carry a mobile/cell phone in my back pocket and some cash for back up which is normally spent on cakes at the cafe.

JWSurrey

I've got some whacking great banana shaped barn-door seatpack that I normally get laughed at for using.
3xlevers, an inner tube, the mobile telephone for the wife driven broom wagon, a VAR tool and a patch kit, plus an external mount for the tail lamp.
There's room left over for a couple of bonk bars.
In fact, I can even squeeze in a banana!
The micro pump rides on a mount connected to the bottle cage.

For winter, I use a rack pack on the Audaxer - I then add a map.
Keeps me fit, and gives me an excuse to crawl up the hills like an old lady!
Last summer, the girls used it to ballast me down with food to even up the pace!

Oh, and nothing on my back - I hate riding like a mule.

Peasoup

like many I use small wedgie under saddle which contains:
spare tube
self adhesive patch kit
allen keys (couple of sizes to suit most fasteners)
tyre levers
bit of spare change

always tend to carry mobile in my jersey

for longer trips i also go down the cut down bottle storage route

pbracing

Tire irons? tyre plastics, always. Unless you like fixing punctures every 50 yards caused by a rim burr that you can't find.

I'm with those that don't carry stuff in pockets. No-one ever thinks they're going to crash, but it happens. You don't want to make a bad situation worse with an allen key shaped puncture wound, or the destruction of your lovely £300 mobile phone.

I use my spare bottle holder for carrying a bottle with drink in it- that's why I have one

singlespeedexplosif

pockets. So you can get at your tools if you need them as you're cycling.

Nobody mentioned a cell phone. Wouldn't leave home without one.
Wouldn't leave home with one.

pbracing

Pockets - so you can get at your food whilst you're cycling.

Seriousl question. What do you need to (or can) adjust with tools whilst riding? I'm genuinly interested. I adjusted the rear brake to bring the pads closer the other day with the little arm on the caliper, all in fear of losing fingers in the wheel.

singlespeedexplosif

anything within reach! bars/stem/stis/brakes/saddle etc. I'm not bendy enough to change pedal bearings whilst on the move just yet..

ride_whenever

I don't use allen keys whilst riding, i'll always stop to use them, but I adjust brakes and indexing on the move, particularly for fine tuning after maintenance, so much easier than using a workstand to get it spot on.

jermas

A neat solution [/url]www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=A3027

road-runner

pbracing wrote:

Seriousl question. What do you need to (or can) adjust with tools whilst riding? I'm genuinly interested.

I remember a spoke breaking just as stood up to power across a crossroad. The wheel buckled slightly. I used a zip-tie to stop it flapping about and the a key to straighten the wheel sufficiently that it didn't rub the frame each revolution. Add tools and puncture repair kit, spare tube, pump, mobile (or cell 'phone for our American friends), allen key multitool, and ID and I have enough to fill a small saddle pack.

cougie

I prefer to keep the weight on the bike - less things moving round in your back pockets. But it gets complicated with three different bikes - so each has a saddle pack with the relevant tubes in, and then my tool bag tends to go in my back pocket.

simmo3801

I had a bottle with a screw top I think it was made by PRO which I carried tools and tube in which kept them dry. I have carbon cages and after washing the bike the other day I gently bounced the bike to shake off excess water. Imagine my annoyance as the small carbon tab on the bottom of the cage snapped off which was there to stop the bottle falling through it

nickwill

Food and waterproof/ windproof in pockets. 2 tubes, self adhesive patches, tyre levers, mini tool, a fiverl and phone in a wedge pack. As far as I'm concerned the bottle cages are needed for bottles. I never carry anything in pockets that might embed themselves in me if I came off. My pump is attached to the bike.

Gav888

I actually use a camera bag, looks the same as a sadle bad but cost £1 from the pound shop. All in black and I use a velco strap to hold it to the seat post, and it rests onto of the rear reflector.

Contains:

Tire levers
Innertube
Multi tool
Puncture repair kit
Mobile

But putting them in a bottle sounds like a good idea

roger_merriman

saddle bag as i hate any thing in the jumper etc.

two inner tubes,
levers
multy tool.
one tiny lock.
house keys

a pump slung under.

and phone and wallet in shorts/or where ever.

6288

for years i rode with a small cannondale pouch/bumbag type thing ... i just used to wear it under my jersey so it didn't destroy the look of my kit and was always assured that keys, money, tools etc were always safe and sound whilst stillleaving room in pockets for food, jacket, maps etc ... i foudn when i carried anything of weight and/or value in my pocket i was forever checking it hadn't popped out after a bump in the road ...

i still have the same pouch 10 years later on but recently decided it was making me too hot aorund my midriff (that combined with several extra pounda gained over the years) so i bought a saddle bag ... only thing is they are butt ugly and donlt hold all that much. on a longish ride i might go back and use the pouch ...

ugo.santalucia

I put the 26 mm spanner in my rear pocket... it's what I call the multi-tool

softlad

I hate saddle bags and I carry everything I need in jersey pockets on a long ride - food, fiver, phone, waterproof, spare tube, lever, multi-tool, micropump and power link. If I'm unfortunate enough to need anything else, then I'm afraid my ride is over for the day...

Whoever suggested adjusting the bike while you are riding it has obviously never tried it. I have never - ever - heard of an injury caused by something like an allen key injuring someone during a crash. Just tightly wrap all of your 'hard' items like those in an old hanky - which, incidentally could also come in useful from time to time.

rockmount

dennisn wrote:

Nobody mentioned a cell phone...

Dennis noward

...Oh yes they did !!! (pantomime season) first reply !!

peanut wrote:

I always carry a tiny mobile nowadays so I can arrange for a lift or help

rb1956

I use a Caradice SQR Tour. The side pockets hold my basic kit:

Allen keys &

150mm (6 inch) adjustable spanner (my rear wheel is not quick-release).
Spare tube & tyre levers.
Locks.
Disposable rubber gloves (two pairs).
Saddle rain-cover.Mobile, wallet, glasses & keys go in my pockets, while my pump and rain-jacket strap on top of the bag, leaving the cavernous main compartment free for work clothes, shopping, packed lunch etc. One of the great things about the SQR range is that the bag is quick-release, so I can just take the whole thing with me when I park.

aracer

In the garage where they belong, and where any bike maintenance is carried out.